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Maps V1 Keys: Going, Going, ...

Note: Version 1 of the Google Maps Android API as been officially deprecated as of December 3rd, 2012. This means that from March 3rd, 2013 you will no longer be able to request an API key for this version. No new features will be added to Google Maps Android API v1. However, apps using v1 will continue to work on devices.

This has several ramifications if you are using the v1 Maps SDK.

First, if your debug key becomes invalid after March 3rd —
such as because it expired a year after creation — you
will not be able to get a new Maps v1 API key for your new debug
key. Recommendation: delete your existing debug.keystore
in late February, let the SDK tools regenerate it, then grab a
new v1 Maps API key
for the new keystore. Then, make a dozen or
so backups of the keystore and the Maps v1 API key.

You also should be backing up your production keystore and its
associated Maps v1 API key, for much the same reason. Hopefully,
you have been doing this already. If not, please stop reading
this blog post and go set up a decent backup regimen for your
development machine.

If you are a consultant, and you have been using unique keystores
(debug or production) for each client, you better stock up on
keystores and associated Maps v1 API keys. In theory, assigned API
keys should work indefinitely (“However, apps using v1 will continue
to work on devices”), so just set up a bunch, enough to tide you over
until you will be using Maps v2 for all your new clients.

Similarly, if you take the approach of having unique production keystores
per app on the Play Store (e.g., to make it a bit eaiser to sell
full rights to the app to some possible buyer), either plan on
moving to Maps v2 ASAP or similarly stock up on some keystores and
Maps v1 API keys.

Moving to Maps v2, for many apps, should be fairly straightforward.
And, as Jeff Gilfelt pointed out,
Maps v2 has a comparatively nice API. However, there will be some
developers who run into problems with Maps v2, either due to bugs,
device support, or API limitations (e.g., no ability to draw()
map markers).

That being said, Google really should issue Maps v1 API keys for
12 months, not 3 months, from when Maps v1 was deprecated. Expecting
everyone to be able to switch in 3 months — some of which is
lost due to holidays — is unreasonable. The V2 API and feature
set is sufficient of a carrot to drive developers to want to move;
beating developers with the deprecation stick might drive developers
to abandon Google’s maps entirely in favor of
other solutions with less anal
policies. As it stands, I fully expect much wailing and gnashing
of teeth starting on March 4th, as developers missed all of these
unannounced announcements and get screwed by the lack of available
API keys.